The Reality of War
by renagadeforlife
Summary: The suicide mission is underway. It's time for things to get real.
1. Collector Base or Bust

Collector Base or Bust

Shepard exits the elevator and walks towards the bridge. He looks around and emptiness of his ship only adds fuel to the fire burning in his heart.

"Those sons-of-bitches are going to pay for what they have done", he thought to himself.

He walks behind Joker and looks out and see the Omega-4 relay's red glow. Despite everything that was happening, seeing a mass effect relay with a red glow as opposed to its normal blue was a sight to see.

"Approaching Omega-4 relay", Joker announced. "Everyone stand by."

"Let's make it happen", Shepard replied.

"Reaper IFF activated. Signal acknowledged", EDI added.

Jacob came over the intercom and informed them that the drive core was ready to go.

EDI informed Joker that the drive core electrical charge was at critical levels.

"Rerouting!"

The ship entered the mass effect field and readied for acceleration. The ship shot like a canon. After a few moments of FTL speeds, EDI told them to brace for deceleration. The ship decelerated and they found themselves in a shit storm as debris plagued their view.

"Oh shit", Joker exclaimed.

He jerked the ship up to avoid the massive debris. Luckily, Joker missed all the debris and cleared the debris field.

"Too close", he sighed.

Shepard looked out and saw his target. It was the Collector base in all of its horrific glory. It looked like a ship graveyard as they found themselves surrounded by destroyed ships.

Joker looked out and said, "These must be all the ships that tried to make it through the Omega-4 relay. Some look… ancient."

EDI announces, "I have detected an energy signature near the edge of the accretion disk."

"Has to be the Collector base. Take us in for a closer look…Nice and easy", ordered Shepard.

They cruised through the debris field and avoided taking any unnecessary damage. Joker saw a red beam flash in front of the ship just as EDI warned them it had detected hostile signatures.

"No shit", he thought to himself. "How many do you detect?"

"I detect four hostiles."

He began to take evasive maneuvers.

"Now they are pissing me off! EDI take these bastards out!"

As they continued to evade fire, they were surprised by the sound of an explosion coming from the CIC. It was followed by a heart-wrenching scream. It was Jack! Shepard ran to the CIC and saw that the beam had ripped through the hull and hit her directly.

Shepard saw her body and screamed, "JACK! God damn it!" After taking a moment to collect himself, "Joker, Jack is dead. She took a direct hit."

"Shepard, I'm sorry."

As he walked back to Joker, he was struck with guilt. He was thinking if only he had upgraded the armor plating that maybe Jack wouldn't have died. These thoughts festered in him for a split-second before he realized that he had to stay focused or else he might endanger more lives. Just as he was about to get back, Joker told him there was a hull breach down in the cargo hold.

"I'll take a team and deal with the thing myself." He activated his communicator, "Tali, Grunt get ready! We are going to deal with an intruder. You keep the rest of them of our tail Joker."

"Aye aye", they replied.

He got on the elevator and headed down to the lower levels. It stopped on the fourth floor to let Grunt and Tali aboard and then it went down. They found themselves face to face with an Oculus. There was no way he could know for sure, but Shepard believed that this was the one that killed Jack. The rage inside Shepard grew.

"Tali, you get behind cover and hit with drones."

"Understood."

"Grunt, do what you do best."

Grunt let out his sinister laugh and replied, "You've got it Battlemaster."

Grunt unlocked his shotgun and began dumping rounds into the mechanical monster. As fast as the Oculus was, it couldn't match the surprising speed of a charging Krogan.

"If only we had an army of Grunts", Shepard thought to himself. "The Collectors wouldn't stand a chance."

He saw Tali's drone firing rockets and figured it was his turn to show this thing what a pissed off Shepard is capable of. He biotic charged into the Oculus and found himself hanging on staring right into the red eye of the Oculus.

"This is not good", he thought as he threw himself up into the air.

Both Tali and Grunt stared in amazement as, if in slow motion, Shepard unlocked his own shotgun and fired rounds into its eye. Shepard's fist glowed blue as he was about to launch his fist into its eye. Just as he was about to come down, it flew away.

* * *

Meanwhile up on the bridge, Joker continues to evade the other Oculus.

"We are sitting ducks out here, I'm going to have to try to evade the in the debris field."

He dove into the debris field. Due to the large amount of debris, Joker was unable to avoid all it.

"Our kinetic barriers aren't designed to survive impact with debris that size, Jeff", EDI announced.

"Well than I guess it's a good thing we upgraded. We're going in."

He swerved and weaved through all the debris that he could. The ship rocked as large chunks of debris bounced of the shields. Room became scarce as the Normandy began scraping against the debris.

"Come on, find some room", Joker said to himself.

"Kinetic barriers are at forty percent."

"Reroute non-critical power! This is gonna hurt!"

He dropped the ship through the smallest hole he could find and darted through it. He found a clear lane in the debris field.

"Damage Report!"

"Kinetic barriers steady at thirty percent. No significant damage."

Joker sighed in relief and replied, "Take the helm, EDI. Keep it slow. See if we can avoid any more attention."

Just as he said that the Oculus that had evaded Shepard, found its way back to the cargo hold.

"I've detected an enemy heading for the cargo hold."

"That thing again? This one is up to Shepard."

* * *

Back in the cargo hold, the Oculus fired at Shepard but missed.

"Your ass is mine", Shepard exclaimed. "Tali, hit it with your drone. I'm going to need that thing distracted. And Grunt, keep running around and hitting with your shotgun."

As Tali and Grunt kept hitting it with pot-shots, Shepard began to circle around waiting for the perfect moment to strike. When the Oculus hit the middle of the room, Shepard knew it was now or never. He launched himself right into the eye, and shot it a couple of times with his shotgun. It was staggered as Shepard charged in for the final blow. He jumped on top of one of the cargo crates, and leaped fist first into the Oculus. He fist once again glowed blue as he unleashed a massive Nova strike into its eye. His fist tore through its metal armor and pierced it to the ground.

Shepard stood up and took a deep breath before contacting Joker, "That thing he dead and gone."

"Good, better get back up here."

Miranda came on the intercom, "We are about to clear the debris field."

Shepard ran back up and met up with Joker and Miranda. He looked out and got yet another view of his final destination.

"There it is", Miranda announced, "the Collector base."

"See if you can find us a place to land without drawing any attention."

"Too late", Joker regretfully replied. "It looks like they are sending out an old friend to greet us."

Shepard looked out and saw the Collector ship that had been the bane of his existence for the last two years. It fired up and was heading right for them. It fired its main weapon, but Joker evaded it.

"It's time to show this thing our new teeth. Fire the main gun."

Joker fired and it was a direct hit.

"How do you like that, you sons-of-bitches!?"

"Get in close and finish them off!"

"Everyone hold on. It is gonna be a wild ride!"

They continued to evade the Collector weapon and until they got close enough to hit. Joker fired and it was another direct hit. The Collector ship began to come apart and was about to explode.

As the ship exploded, Miranda shouted, "Look out!"

Joker turned to Shepard, "You know maybe getting danger close wasn't a good idea."

"Yeah, well hindsight is great thing to have… too bad it usually only shows itself after the fact."

The explosion ring hit the Normandy causing systems to go down.

"Mass effect field generators are offline! EDI, give me something!"

"Generators are unresponsive. All hands brace for impact."

"Well this sucks…"

The Normandy was a dead stick as one of the wings hit an obstruction and eventually crashed and burned on the outer frame of the ship. It continued to drag across the base until it eventually came to a stop.

"Joker are you alright", asked Shepard.

"Ungh…think I broke a rib. All of them."

EDI added to the bad news as it announced, "Multiple core systems overloaded during the crash. Restoring operation will take time."

Miranda continued to add to the depressing mood, "We all knew this would be a one way trip."

Shepard tired of all the negativity replied, "I plan to defeat the Collectors, but I plan to live to tell the story."

Joker turned and replied, "Well I'm glad you're in charge. What's next?"

"How long will it take for the Collectors to find this landing zone?"

EDI replied, "I do not detect an internal security network. It is possible the Collectors did not expect anyone to reach the base."

Joker added, "If we are lucky, their external sensors were hit like we were. They probably don't even know we are alive."

Shepard got on the intercom, "All squad mates, meet me in the conference room. We need to decide on our plan of action."

Shepard and Miranda were the first to arrive. They waited for everyone else so show up. Once everyone was there, it was time to plan out the attack. Shepard got in front of everybody and prepared to deliver one of his famous speeches.

"This isn't how we planned this mission, but this is where we're at. We can't worry about the whether or not the Normandy can get us home. We came to stop the Collectors, and that means coming up with a plan to take out this station. EDI, bring up your scans."

"You should be able to overload their critical systems if you get to the main control center here."

Jacob interrupted, "That means going through the heart of the station. Right past this massive energy signature."

"That's the central chamber", Shepard replied. "If our crew or any of the colonists are still alive, the Collectors are probably holding them in there."

"Looks like there are two main roots, it might be a good idea to split up to throw of the Collectors and then regroup in the central chamber."

"Sorry Jacob," Miranda replies, "but that won't work. Both looks are blocked… the only way to get past these blast doors is for someone to open them from the other side."

"It's not a fortress, there's got to be something. Here, maybe we can send someone in through this ventilation shaft."

"Practically a suicide mission, I volunteer and there is nothing none of you can say to change my mind."

"I'm not going argue with you because you are obviously going to this regardless of what I say so I guess you're up."

Miranda turned to him, "Be safe, Jacob."

Shepard continued, "The rest of us will break up into two teams and fight down each passage. That should draw the Collectors' attention away from what you're doing."

"I'll lead the second fire team, Shepard. We'll meet up with you on the other side of the doors", Miranda volunteered.

"Well as my XO, you are probably the best candidate for the job."

"I won't let you down, Shepard."

"I don't know what we are going to find in there, but I won't lie to you. It's not going to be easy. We've lost good people and we may lose more. We don't know how many the Collectors have stolen – thousands, hundreds of thousands. It's not important. What matters is that there will be that no one else is subjected to the Collectors wrath. That is what we can do, here, today. It ends with us. They want to see what we are made of? I say let's show them, on our terms! Let's bring our people home and eliminate these bastards once and for all!

"Who's going with who Shepard", Miranda asked.

"Garrus and Tali will come with me. You take everyone else."

"Understood Shepard."

"Let's move out!"

* * *

Be sure to stay tuned for next chapter in this exciting tell. Be sure to author alert, not story alert, because I update through new stories. I hope you enjoyed and be sure to tell what you think of the story.


	2. Beginning the Assault

Beginning the Assault

"Let's get started", Shepard proclaimed.

The rest of the squad nodded and began their assault of the Collector Base. Shepard, Garrus, and Tali went down one corridor, while Jacob climbed into the vents. Miranda led the rest of the squad down another corridor. As Shepard squad continued down the corridor, they became concerned when they hadn't made contact with any Collectors for a few minutes.

"Shepard… This is Jacob, reporting in."

"Jesus Christ, you startled me", Shepard thought. "Rodger that Jacob how's the situation?"

"It's hot as hell but I'll be fine."

"Understood, keep moving forward."

Just as he ended the transmission, Shepard was greeted by a squad of Collectors advancing on his position.

"Squad, ready your weapon… we've got company!"

Garrus took cover a little further back and blew their heads off with his M-92 Mantis. Meanwhile, Tali managed any short range targets with her M-22 Eviscerator. Shepard, on the other hand, figured he'd get to know his enemies real well as he charged into their face and punched a hole into their stomachs with a nova strikes. Shepard was a master of hand to hand combat and one of the best biotics the Alliance had ever seen. Unfortunately for the Collectors, he decided to show them just how skilled he was as he used them as practice dummies. As they continued to fight, Jacob came over the headset.

"Shepard, something is blocking my path and it's getting really hot in here."

"Shepard", Tali interrupted, "I see him."

Garrus confirmed, "We need to get him moving before he cooks to death."

Shepard dived into cover and peeked in and out of cover to scout the battlefield. A few moments later, he saw something that looked like a terminal.

"Tali, I think that the terminal to open the pathway is right below him. I need you to hack it. We'll cover you."

"On it", she replied.

Shepard and Garrus provided cover fire for her as she made her way to the terminal. She scampered across the battlefield, dodging bullets until she reached it. The controls were in Prothean, so she activated the decoder on her Omni-Tool. Just as the decoding was almost complete, she was almost knocked off her feet from bullets bouncing off her shield.

"Hurry it up Tali", Jacob screamed. "I'm cooking to death!"

"Just give me…a few… more…got it. You should be good to go."

"Appreciate it"

"We need to keep moving forward", Shepard ordered.

The squad continued down the corridor. They saw another terminal, but Jacob hadn't reached it yet. Tali hacked it and opened it so that Jacob could just keep moving. They turned the corner and Shepard was blown back by a grenade.

"Shepard", Tali screamed. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, all they did was piss me off and scratch my armor." Shepard stood up and turned to Garrus, "I need you provide cover fire from a distance." Then he turned to Tali, "I need you to stay close to me and hit any Collector I miss with your shotgun…understood?"

"You've got it Shepard."

Garrus went prone, stared down the sights, "Ready Shepard."

Shepard turned the corner and fired his pistol into the crowd of Collectors. He managed to stagger a few before he stopped his foot on the ground and fired off a shockwave. Shepard had been practicing channeling his biotics to other parts of his body, and to his enjoyment, his practice had paid off. The shockwave knocked most of them off their feet then he unleashed a massive pull field to get them airborne. Tali picked the helpless Collectors off one by one as she walked underneath them. Any Collectors trying to charge the battlefield were almost immediately picked off by Garrus. As a few Collectors frantically tried to fight back, Shepard had an evil grin come across his face.

"Time to die" he manically whispered.

He biotic charged into the group of Collectors, taking them off their feet. He channeled his biotics to his feet as he punted a Collector into a wall, killing it instantly. The two remaining Collectors desperately tried to crawl away from their unavoidable demise. Shepard lunged into them, fist glowing a haunting blue, and sunk his fists into their faces.

Garrus walked up to Tali and whispered into her ear, "Damn, Shepard doesn't seem to understand the term overkill. A pistol shot to the head would suffice."

"I think he is just unleashing his pent up anger over Jack dying."

"Makes sense"

Shepard pulled his fists out of the Collectors' heads and turned to them, "Let's move."

As the continued on, Tali hacked the remaining terminals to help Jacob.

"I think there is only one more and we are home clear", Jacob reported.

"Yeah", Shepard sarcastically replied as he looked out and saw a platoon of Collectors waiting for them. "And all we have to do is kill all these angry Collectors to get to the terminal. I hope you can handle the heat a little longer."

Jacob didn't reply as he realized Shepard needed to focus his attention on the hoard of Collectors firing on him and his squad. Shepard pulled out his pistol and started taking potshots on them. Garrus sniped the ones standing further away and Tali sent out her drone to force them to fire on something else besides them.

Shepard, frustrated by the ineffectiveness of his pistol, turned to Garrus, "Toss me your assault rifle. We need to thin their numbers."

Garrus threw his rifle to Shepard and he began firing rounds into the crowd. Collectors slowly fell, but just as one was about to die it started hovering and was being possessed by Harbinger. As they focused their fire on the possessed Collector, several others flew over to flank their position.

"Damn it! They're going to surround us at this point," Garrus exclaimed. "We need to think of something and fast!"

Shepard had to think fast or else they might not see this mission through to the end. "I got it!" He tossed Garrus his rifle back. "Keep focusing your fire on the hostiles in front of us. Tali, you and I are going to do some crowd control." They dug into cover and unlocked their shotguns. They began to fire blind into the incoming horde until they heard a few thumps.

"Just a little closer", Shepard thought to himself. Just before they were danger close he turned to Tali, "On three, roll towards Garrus."

"Got it"

"One…two…three!"

On three, Tali rolled and at the same time, Shepard launched himself into the air and unleashed a thunderous nova strike. It sent the enemy horde crashing to the ground.

At that moment Jacob came on the headset, "Shepard! Open the damn vent now or else this mission is going to be over now!"

"Garrus! Cover Tali and get her to that terminal!"

"Got it…let's go!"

As they rushed to the terminal, Shepard showed "mercy" as he only relinquished shotgun rounds into the fallen Collector forces. Shepard charged up the pathway to meet up with others.

"Door unblocked…get moving", Tali exclaimed.

Jacob jumped out of the vents, drenched in sweat, as he ran to the doors to let Shepard's squad in.

"Thought I was a goner there for a second", Jacob said trying to catch his breath.

"Good job Ja…"

Miranda came on the headset, "Shepard, heavy resistance on this side! We need this door open now."

"Tali, go get the door!"

She ran over and opened the door. Miranda and the rest of the squad mates poured into the central chamber. Meanwhile on the other side of room, Collectors were attempting to storm the opened door.

"Jacob, close the damn door!"

"Shut the fuck up! The fucking door is jammed!"

Jacob stood up and started pushing one side of the door towards the other. Shepard pushed the other side and just as the door was almost closed, he saw a missile coming toward the door. The door shut but not before the missile nailed Jacob dead on the head.

"JACOB!"

Jacob's body fell flat to the ground. Shepard tried applying Medi-gel but to no avail…Jacob was dead. Then Shepard heard a heartbreaking shriek…it was Miranda.

"NO", she shrieked as she ran over to his lifeless body. "You can't be dead damn it. Remember what you said last night? You promised me that you wouldn't die", she screamed as tears rained down her face. "All those ours we spend working together on the Lazarus Project, I tried to deny my feelings for you. I tried to stay professional, but you saw through my charade. I love you Jacob…please…don't leave me. Stay with me", she paused as she choked on her tears, "please…Jacob…Jacob…JACOB!"

She buried her face into his chest as tears continued to poor down her face, rolling off her chin and hitting the ground. She held him close as she kissed his lips for the last time. For a few minutes the air was silent…two were dead and those feelings that they might all be dead by the end of the day began to sink in. As the air grew more and more thin, Shepard turned his and saw pods alongside the wall. His eyes widened as he realized who it was in the pods.

"It's the crew!"

* * *

This is my first time doing chapters as opposed to new story so I apologize if anything is off. Hope you all stay tuned for the future chapters of the story and I hope you enjoyed this chapter


	3. Staying By Your Side

Staying By Your Side

"It's the crew", Shepard yelled.

He looked into one of the pods and saw someone he didn't recognized. It was some woman. His confusion turned to horror as she began screaming. She was melting! She pounded against the glass begging for Shepard to help her but to no avail as she disintegrated into nothing.

Shepard turned to his squad and yelled, "Find a way to get these tubes open…now!"

Some slammed their guns into the glass and others frantically tried to rip the pods open. Tali saw Kelly in one of the pods and pulled on the pod with all her strength. She struggled as the door didn't seem to budge, but finally she heard the pop of the pods latch opening. Other pods began cracking open and one by one, members of the Normandy crew began falling out of them. Shepard and Miranda sprinted to the last pod, which was containing Dr. Chakwas, and began pulling on the door. After a few seconds of struggle, the door opened and Chakwas fell into Shepard's arms.

"Dr. Chakwas…are you alright"

"Ugh… Shepard? You came for us?"

"No one gets left behind."

"The colonist were… processed. Those swarms of little robots, they melted their bodies into grey liquid and pumped though these tubes."

"Why are they doing this? What are they doing with our genetic material?

"I don't know but I am just glad you got here before it happened to us."

"So are we."

Miranda interrupted, "We still have a job to do Commander…don't forget that."

"Miranda, I know you're hurting but I need you to stay focused."

"…I don't know if I can."

Shepard sighed and then contacted Joker, "Joker? Can you get a fix on our position?

"Rodger that Commander, all those tubes lead into the main control room right above you. The room is blocked by a security door, but there's another chamber that runs parallel to the one you're in."

EDI interrupted, "I cannot recommend that. Thermal emissions suggest that the chamber is overrun by seeker swarms. Mordin's counter measure cannot protect you against so many at once."

"Well…what about biotics? Could we create a biotic field to keep them from getting near us?

Samara answered, "Yes… I think it may be possible but I wouldn't be able to protect everyone. We might be able to get a small team through is they all stayed close."

"Then it's settled…Samara and I will take a small team through the seeker swarms. The rest of you will provide a diversion by going through the main passage. We'll open the security doors from the other side and meet you there.

"Who will lead the diversion team", asked Miranda.

Shepard thought about it for a second and decided that Garrus will lead the diversion team.

"You've got it Shepard. Decide who'll you'll bring with you and the rest of us will wait for you at the door."

Before Shepard could decide, Chakwas interrupts, "What about the crew Shepard? We are in no condition to fight."

"Joker, do you think I could get an evacuation from my location?

"We do have enough systems back online to do a pickup, but we'd need to land back from your position."

"We can't afford to go back, Shepard. Not now", Shepard exclaimed.

"They'll never make it without help and I came here to save the crew. I'll send some someone with them. Tali…I want you to go back with the crew."

"No, I can't do that Shepard."

"I don't want you to be in…"

"No Shepard! I'm going to stay by your side."

"I can see you won't change your mind…Miranda go back with the crew."

"What", she screamed. "Why should I go back?"

"Miranda, I can see you're not thinking clearly and I can't risk your emotions endangering the mission."

"But...", she paused, trying to hold back her tears of frustration. After a few moments she finally finished, "Joker…send me the location of the landing zone and we will meet you there."

"Now that that is out the way," Garrus announced, "who will be going with you and Samara?"

"Tali and Grunt, you are with me and the rest of you are with Garrus. Let's move out!"

The two groups split up. Shepard's group reached the chamber and saw the massive amounts of seekers swarms.

"Keelah, I hope this works."

"It'll work. They don't make biotics better than Samara." He turned to Samara, "Are you ready?"

"Indeed", she replied.

She created a biotic bubble and they made their way down the chamber. They were weapons ready just in cases some Collectors showed up. At that moment, they saw a Collector fly past them.

"Samara take cover, we'll get rid of the enemy hostiles." She took cover and then Shepard began barking our orders to the others. "Grunt concussive shot into that group of Collectors."

"Yes, battle-master"

"Tali, you know what to do. Send out your drones, sabotage their weapons, and drain their shields for me and Grunt."

"You've got it Shepard."

Grunt fired a concussive shot, knocking some of the collectors over the edge, and Tali's drone nipped at their ankles. Shepard, realizing he couldn't charge the enemy, began popping rounds from his pistol and using projectile biotics. They cleared the space and they moved forward. Shepard asked Samara if he could use her assault rifle for the time being. She nodded and Shepard pulled the rifle off her back. As they progressed further, a group of husks attempted to hassle them, but were met with a barrage of concussive shots, biotics throws, and shotgun blasts.

"Battle-master, something isn't right. It's too… quiet."

"I was thinking the same thing, but then again it could just be that the Collectors weren't expecting anybody to come this way."

Tali entered the conversation, "My Omni-tool can't read enemy signatures because of the biotic field. We should be prepared for an ambush."

"Noted…Samara, how are you holding up?"

"I don't think I'll be able to last much longer. We need to find the doors."

"Alright", he replied, "double-time to that door."

As they turned the corner, they were greeted by a small army of husks and a couple of scions.

"Get back", Shepard yelled as a scion's shockwave picked him off his feet and threw him back a couple feet.

"Shit that hurt…but that thing made one mistake."

A puzzled look came over the groups face.

"I was worried a shockwave would detonate the bubble… so now," he paused, as he began glowing blue, "I'm going to rip these things a new one. You two keep doing what you've been doing and I'll take care of the scions."

Grunt laughed, "Save some for me…my blood is starting to itch."

Shepard smiled and got back on his feet. He turned to Tali, "Be careful, my biotics don't discriminate between friend and foe."

"Don't worry, I don't mind looking at your backside", she replied with an innocent giggle.

He smiled again and turned to the army of husks, "Let's get this shit started."

Grunt fired the first concussive shot causing a group of husks to explode and Tali husks from charging them with her drones. Shepard holstered his gun and planted himself to the ground. With a sinister smirk, he stomped his foot and tore apart husks with a shockwave. He threw a warp sphere at one of the scions with one hand and a shockwave with the other. He began launching warp projectiles one after another. The scion didn't stand a chance against the barrage of biotics and quickly blew apart. While all this was going on, Samara continued to stumble forward so Shepard could get closer to his prey. Just as Shepard was about to obliterate the other Scion, he looked at Grunt and gave him the nod of approval. The scion broke into the bubble, which was the worst thing it could have done. Grunt rammed into it head first and began digging his fists into the scions chest. Shepard pulled the scion off its feet, dropping it to the ground. Grunt planted his foot on the chest of the scion and the other two joined him with shotguns in hand. The scion squealed but all it was given was three consecutive shotgun blasts to the head. As they stood over the lifeless scion corpse, they heard a thud. Samara had fallen to one knee and was barely able to hold up the bubble.

"Grunt on three, help Samara up. I'm going to get us the rest of the way."

"I can do it", Samara replied. "Besides, can you even create a bubble?"

Shepard smirked, "I guess we'll find out. You ready Grunt?"

"Alright, on your count Shepard"

"Ok. One…two… three", and as soon as he said three he focused his biotics into a bubble and they began sprinting down the hill. "Let's go, let's go, let's go!"

They charged down the hill until they crossed past the door. Once they passed by the door, they all collapsed to the floor.

As they lied there on the floor, Garrus came over the communicator, "Shepard, do you copy?"

"I copy. What's your position?"

"We're at the door. They've got us pinned down!"

"We're coming; just hold on! Tali, get the door open now!"

The door opened and the rest of the squad poured into the room.

"Seal the door!"

As the door closed, Garrus split in side. Shepard looked over and saw Garrus holding his gut.

"Garrus, are you ok?"

"It'll take more than a couple of bullets to put me down."

"Good," he replied. He then hailed Joker, "Joker? Are you at the rendezvous point?"

"I'm here, Commander. Chakwas and the rest of the crew just showed up."

EDI also replied, "Miranda's group just arrived. No casualties."

Shepard replied, "Good. Now let's make it count EDI. What's our next step?"

"There should be some nearby platforms that will take you the main console. From there you can overload the system and destroy the base."

"Commander, I got some bad news," Joker announced. "Hostiles massing just outside the door and it won't be long before they bust through."

Shepard turned and hopped on top of a platform. He turned to his squad, "A rearguard could defend this position and keep the Collectors from overwhelming us. Tali and Mordin will come with me. Everybody else stay back and hold this position."

Before Shepard could turn around, Garrus sarcastically yelled, "Speech!"

Shepard laughed but then a serious look came over his face. "The Collectors, the Reapers…they aren't a threat to us. They're a threat to everything and everyone. Those are the lives we're fighting for. That's the scale we face. It's been a long journey, and no one's coming out of this without scars. We've lost people today and we continue to fight on so they didn't sacrifice their lives in vain. It all comes down to this moment. We win or lose it all in the next few minutes. I couldn't be more proud of you all. Now let's go finish this."

The platform then ascends towards the main control room. Shepard turns to Tali and she hugs him tight and looks into his eyes.

"If we don't succeed, I just want you to know that I love you."

"I love you too, but we will succeed. I don't plan on letting you die in this place. Plus, I want to see what's under the suit again."

They break their hug and look out into the abyss of the base.

"Let's finish this."

* * *

To all those that continue to follow this story, I thank all of you for your patience. This was the hardest chapter for me to write because for the longest time I was thinking about the fate of Tali until I came to the decision of letting her live. I hope you enjoyed the story and I hope you stick with me until the end. As always if you enjoyed the story be sure to follow me.


	4. Scars of War

Scars of War

The platform ascended higher and began moving towards the central chamber. Shepard, Tali, and Thane looked out into the abyss that was the Collector Base. The view only worsened as they saw multiple Collectors coming towards them.

"Take cover", Shepard yelled. "Hold on to something in case they ram us."

The three of them clinched to the wall. The other platform smashed into them almost knocking them off. Shepard turned to Thane and nodded. At that moment, both Shepard and Thane started to glow blue. It was time to get this fight under way. Thane leapfrogged over cover had hit the one of them with a warp field. Shepard followed it up with a biotic throw causing a huge biotic explosion, knocking several of Collectors off their feet. The group used this as the perfect time to shoot them dead. One by one they picked off the Collector scum, but just as they thought they could take a moment to rest, multiple platforms began darting right towards them.

"Shit", Shepard thought to himself. "There's no way we can take cover from those things." He took a second to come up with something. A second later he turns to the others, "I've got an idea, but it's risky."

"Yes, because storming the Collector base wasn't a risk", Tali sarcastically replied.

"Point taken, but seriously, the moment before they ram into us we are going to leap onto their platforms."

The others stood there in disbelief, but they couldn't wait because the next platform was about to ram them.

"Oh fuck it", Shepard yelled. "Grab my arms, I got another idea."

They grabbed his arms and just as the platform closed in, Shepard charged them into a Collector… that poor bastard went crashing to the ground.

"Yeah, that was better", said Tali.

"Now let's waste these bastards!"

Tali and Shepard unlocked their shotguns and began pumping rounds into Collectors. Thane was leapfrogging Collectors and shooting them in the back of the heads. The next few minutes were rinse and repeat as they'd charge the next platform and take out any hostiles. The last platform took a little longer as there were a pair of scions and a small army of husks. The husks proved no problem as Thane and Shepard launched them off the platform with their biotics, but the scions were a little more intense especially they were forced to fight in a close, open space. They focused their fire on one of the scions until it fell over, but with a price. The other scion managed to maneuver behind them so they didn't see the shockwave until it was too late. He turned and saw it was heading for Tali. He ran and pushed her out of the way but took the full force of the shockwave. He was launched over the edge.

"SHEPARD!"

They ran over and saw Shepard was barely able to hang on to the edge. Thane realized that he had to distract the scion before it launched another shockwave. He pulled his pistol out and started taking shots at it to draw its attention away from Shepard. As he ran around the platform, Tali pulled Shepard back onto the platform, but was greeted with a grizzly scene. The shockwave had torn through his armor and he was bleeding badly. He was coughing up blood and gasping for air. She rushed to apply Medi-gel to the wound.

Tears falling down her shielded face, she cried, "You can't die on me! You just can't!"

Her attention was stolen away as Thane yelled at her, "I need some help here! Shepard will be fine as long as we can keep this thing's attention away from him."

She knew he was right. She turned back to Shepard, "I'll be right back baby."

In a fit of rage, Tali unlocked her shotgun and started tearing into the scion. She got the scions attention, which gave Thane the perfect chance to finish it off. He leaped onto its back and began shooting it right in the head. It stumbled down to the ground. Tali kicked it onto its back and shot it point blank in the face. It let out one final squeal as it finally had died. Tali then ran back over to Shepard and applied more Medi-gel to his wound.

"Please don't die", she pleaded as tears continued to pour from her eyes.

Finally, Shepard sat up holding onto his stomach.

"Shepard", she screamed happily. She hugged him tight. After a few moments though, she slapped him, "You've got to stop scaring me like that."

Shepard laughed and replied, "Sorry, I just can't help it. Man's gotta protect his gal."

"You're stupid you know that?"

"But you still love me", he laughed. He grunted as he stood up and got a serious look on his face. "This is it…it looks like all the tubes lead to this next room. EDI, what can you tell us? What are they doing?"

"The tubes are feeding into some kind of super-structure. It's emitting both organic and non-organic energy signatures. Given these reading, it must be massive. Shepard, if my calculations are correct, the super-structure is…a Reaper."

"Not just any Reaper…a human Reaper."

"Precisely…It appears that the Collectors have processed tens of thousands of humans. Significantly more will be required to complete the Reaper.

"This thing is an abomination. EDI, how do we destroy it?"

"The large tubes injecting the fluid are a structural weak link. Destroying them should cause the supports to collapse and the Reaper to fall."

Just then, Collectors started coming towards them.

"Hold that thought…we got to take care of some friends first. Alright team it's time to go Collector hunting."

Thane unlocked his sniper rifle and began picking off the back ranks.

"Way to be literal Thane", Shepard thought to himself.

Shepard, to avoid taking any more physical damage, used his biotics to take them down. The few that got close enough were flanked by Tali and her shotgun-of-death. As the final hostiles fell, the tubes opened up and were vulnerable to fire.

"Take out those tubes!"

They all turned up to the tubes and blew them apart. The Reaper began flailing around before it collapsed to the floor.

"Shepard to ground team, status report!"

"It's Garrus. We are holding, but they won't stop coming. A quick exit would be nice."

"Head to the Normandy. Joker, prep the engines. I'm going to overload this place and blow it sky high."

"Rodger that Commander", Joker replied. "Uh, Commander? I've got an incoming signal from the Illusive Man. EDI's patching it through."

"Oh my god…what does he want?!"

He turned around and saw a hologram of the Illusive Man.

"Shepard, you've done the impossible."

"I was part of a team. Some of them gave their lives for this mission."

"I know and their sacrifice will not be forgotten. You did what you had to, and you acquired the Collector base. I'm looking at the schematics EDI uploaded. A timed radiation pulse would kill the remaining Collectors, but leave the machinery and technology intact. This is our chance Shepard. They were building a Reaper. That knowledge, that framework, could save us."

Shepard annoyed by what the Illusive Man was suggesting turned to him and replied, "This place liquefied people and turned them into something horrible. This mission claimed the lives of members of MY squad! There is no way I'm saving this base! We have to destroy it!"

"Don't be so short-sighted…"

"No, you listen to me you sadistic son-of-a-bitch! This base will be destroyed. If you have a problem with that, you can fire me."

"Shepard…", and then the signal was lost.

Shepard turned back to the core and planted the bomb.

"Let's move. We've got ten minutes before the reactor overloads and blows the station apart."

Just then, the platform began shaking. They turned back around and saw that the Reaper had awoken and was staring straight at them.

"You've got to be shitting me! What is this a videogame? Like some kind of final boss before we can complete the mission?! Fuck!"

"Who knows maybe history will remember this and make a videogame about it," Tali sarcastically replied.

"Sometimes Tali…I swear you are the female version of Garrus. Can we please focus on the big Reaper thing trying to kill us?"

The Reaper fired a huge beam out of its eyes and the three were barely able to dodge it.

"We really don't have time for this and with that…boy am I glad I brought the Cain."

Just as Shepard was about to fire he saw Thane. The Reaper had its sights on him.

"Tali, forgive me", he thought to himself.

Tali looked over and saw Shepard running towards Thane. The Reaper fired its laser. Her eyes widened and she screamed. Shepard had pushed Thane down into cover and Shepard had almost evaded it as well. Tali looked in horror as she heard Shepard scream in pain and watched as most of his left leg was vaporized. Shepard was lying on the floor rolling and screaming in pain. Tali was paralyzed with shock. Her boyfriend just had his leg vaporized into nothing and there wasn't anything she could do to stop the pain. Finally, she was able to overcome the shock and ran to him.

"Shepard…", she couldn't think of what to say. "What do you say to someone who just watched their own leg get destroyed," she thought.

Shepard grabbed tightly onto her hand. "Tali…grab the Cain and end this nightmare."

"But Shepard…"

"Please Tali…just do it."

He passed out in arms. He still had a pulse but it was fading. Tali realized he needed medical attention soon. Shepard was right; it was time to end this nightmare. She ran over to the Cain and picked it up. It fired and knocked her off her feet. She looked up and watched as a huge explosion engulfed the Reaper.

"Tali", Thane yelled, "we need to get Shepard out of here."

She nodded. Thane threw Shepard onto his shoulders and began running for the Normandy. They saw the Normandy and began running faster. Joker opened the hatch and Thane threw Shepard into the ship. Tali and Thane jumped in and then Joker hobbled as fast as he could to his seat.

"Destruction of base in 10…9…8…"

"Yeah, we get it EDI. Everybody hold on."

The Normandy hit FTL and jumped back through the Omega-4 relay. The ship was just floating in space as Joker abandoned his seat to help Shepard to the Med-Bay. A blessing in disguise was that the Reapers beam was so hot that it cauterized the wound and stopped the bleeding.

"Chakwas…I know you're still traumatized but…"

"Never mind me", she replied, "get him on the table."

"Can you help him Chakwas", Tali asked frantically.

She turned to her, "All I can do is give him meds to nullify the pain. We need to get to the Citadel."

"I'll get us there as fast as we can", Joker panted.

Tali kneeled by Shepard and whispered, "We did it Shepard. We stopped the Collectors."

She buried her face in his chest and started crying. She was shocked when she felt hand on her head. She looked up and saw Shepard smiling at her.

"Shepard! You're ok!"

He grimaced in pain but was still able to reply, "Yeah, it'll take more than a blown off leg to keep this soldier off his feet…metaphorically anyway."

He laughed, but Tali had a confused look on her face.

"Lucky for me it was my left leg."

"Why would you say that?"

"I finally figured out how to channel my biotics to my legs and to be honest I prefer my right leg. Can't channel biotics through a metal leg…can you?"

Tali laugh, "You really are an idiot. Anyway, you get some rest ok Shepard. We'll be at the Citadel in a bit…ok?"

Shepard nodded his head and before and went to sleep he kissed her on her face plate. Tali responded just as he had hoped. She took of her face plate and kissed him on the lips. Shepard took one last glance into her illuminated eyes and finally passed out.

* * *

As this story comes closer and closer to its conclusion, I would like to take the time to thank all of my loyal readers who have been with since You've Got Mail and have kept their faith in me even with some of my early blunders. To those who are picking up the story here, I would really like to suggest that you at least go to Hot in Haestrom and pick it up their. Anyways, whether you're a first time reader of my work or you have been following me since the beginning I, would like to say thank you.


	5. Consequences of War

Consequences of War

Shepard turns his head and sees that Thane is in directed path of the Reaper Embryo's attack. He runs as fast as he can to push him out of the way. He leaps and stretches his arms out which cause Thane to crash to the ground. As if it were happening in slow-motion, Shepard falls towards cover but just as he thought the attack would miss he saw that half of his leg was open. Just as his leg was struck, Shepard jumped up.

* * *

He looked around and saw that he was in a hospital room. Shepard had always hated hospitals. Then as if controlled by instinct, he turned his attention to the end of the bed where his leg should be. He reluctantly reached for the covers hoping that it was all a dream and that his leg would be there; however, when the cover had been pulled, he saw the empty space where his leg was supposed to be. Shepard's eyes widened as he let out a painful scream.

"NO! THIS CAN'T BE REAL!"

He began punching the empty space as tears began to build up in his eyes. He continued to scream in disbelief until Tali ran into the room.

"Shepard, are you ok?"

"AM I OK? MY FUCKING LEG IS GONE!"

As Tali stood there, unable to move, the doctor charged in behind her.

The doctor turned to Tali, "Ma'am, I need you to leave." Without even seeing if she left, she turned to Shepard, "I need you to calm down. Everything will be fine if you just relax."

"CALM DOWN?! MY LEG IS GONE AND YOU WANT ME TO CALM DOWN!"

The doctor, realizing he wasn't going to calm down, reached over to a nearby tray and grabbed a needle. She turned and called for some people to hold Shepard down. They ran in and held him down as the doctor injected Shepard in the arm with whatever was in the needle. Almost instantly, Shepard's movements became less frantic until he eventually passed out on the bed.

The doctor sighed and turned to Tali. "Miss, I really need you to leave. Shepard's in no condition for visitors right now."

Tali stood there blank for a few moments before finally being able to spit out, "Yes, doctor."

She hobbled out of his room and she almost immediately fell to her knees. Tears were pouring down her face and her body had become so weak she fell over onto the floor. Her knees tucked into her stomach in an attempt to soften the sharp pain in her gut. She lied there on the floor for almost thirty seconds before Kelly and Garrus helped her off the floor. Tali, being pretty much dead weight, was dragged over to the ladies restroom. Once they reached to bathroom door, Kelly was able drag her into the restroom where Tali immediately fell back down onto the floor. Kelly fell to the floor with her and put Tali's head on her lap.

"It's ok…just let it all out."

Tali began screaming as tears began to splash onto her faceplate. She was crying so hard that her throat and chest were throbbing in pain.

"He's… in so much pain Kelly", she choked out through her tears, "and there's…nothing I can do."

Unable to speak, she turns her head back into Kelly's lap and goes back to screaming and crying. She cries for another half hour before finally pulling herself away from Kelly. She stands up and grabs the sink to hold her up. Finally, they walk out of the bathroom. Just as they were to take a seat in the waiting room, Tali walks over to talk to the doctor attending to Shepard.

"Excuse me?"

"Yes, what is it?"

"Would it be a problem if I sat in the room with him?"

"Ma'am, he is very unstable right now. It would be best if you wait for him to wake up."

"Oh, I see."

"Tell you what…After he wakes up and we give him his medication, I can let you see him. He should be sedated enough to be calm but aware enough to have a conversation with."

"Really?! Thank you so much."

"You're welcome."

Tali went back over to waiting over and sat down. She impatiently waited for the doctors to come get her. She started thinking of things to talk to Shepard about. She was fidgeting in her chair. Garrus and some of the other members of the crew came over to talk to her to help her past the time. They all tried to comfort her. After a while, she realized that one person was missing…Thane. In truth, she was angry at Thane for happened to Shepard. If he hadn't been so careless, Shepard would be with us and we'd probably be out celebrating their victory over the Collectors. But then she thought about the time on the Alarei, and how Shepard suffered terrible wounds to protect her. Then she remembered that Shepard took a direct blow from a Scion's shockwave that was intended for her. Maybe if he hadn't taken that hit, he would have been able to dodge the Embryo's attack. Here she was losing her mind over Shepard, and yet she hasn't stopped to think how this has affected Thane. Just as she was about to go look for Thane, the doctor comes out of Shepard's room.

"Miss, you can come talk to him know. Remember he is heavily medicated, so forgive him if he's a little…out of it."

Tali nods and walks into the room. She sits in the chair right next to his bed and grabs hold of his hand.

"Tali…", Shepard whispered, "is that you?"

Holding back her tears she replies, "Yes, it's me Shepard."

"Sorry if I yelled at you a while ago…waking up to see half of your leg missing isn't something most people are accustomed to."

"It's fine. I understand…it can't be easy for you. I just wish there was…"

"Tali," he interrupted. He put his finger over where her lips would be and said, "Hush your mouth. There is no reason for you to feel guilty or responsible for what happened to me. This is the reality of war. Eventually, your luck is going to run out and sadly, mine ran out."

"But if you didn't take the shockwave for me", she blurted out, "you might have had the maneuverability to dodge that attack all the way."

"Tali, I don't think you realize how bad that shockwave would have been for you."

Tali fell silent.

"Had the shockwave hit you, you would have been blown of the platform. Not to mention it probably would have ripped your suit to shreds. So even if you were lucky enough to get the ledge like I did, which you wouldn't have, you would have died from contamination. Tali, I told you before that you aren't here to be a force on the battlefield. You are here because you are the best damned engineer in the galaxy and the Normandy wouldn't be the ship it is today without you."

"Then why did you take me with you to the final chamber?!"

"Because I felt more comfortable knowing that you were safe beside me as opposed to being somewhere I couldn't save you if things got hairy."

Just then, something inside of Tali snapped, "Keeh'lah Shepard…I am not a child! I don't want you to think you always have to save me!"

"Tali, I just want to make sure you are…"

"Oh stop it Shepard! You don't believe that I am capable to take care of myself! You think you have to always be my savior but I'm never going to learn to take care of myself if you are going to always throw yourself in harm's way for me."

"Tali…"

"You…you're just like my father! You do things for my sake even though I never asked for it!" A moment of silence passed by before Tali continued, "Shepard, I don't want what happened to my father happen to you. If you died because of me, I don't know what I'd do. I don't want you to die; I want to grow old with you even though the rest of the galaxy says we can't."

Shepard could do nothing but lie there speechless. He had no problem risking his life to protect others, but he hadn't ever stopped and thought about what his life meant to those same people. Ever since Torfan, he feared the loss of fellow squad mates. Since then, he lost Ashley on Virmire. During the assault of the Collector base, he lost both Jack and Jacob. Miranda was an emotional mess seeing Jacob's lifeless corpse. As he continued to think about the emotions of his squad, something struck him like a slug to the chest.

He turned to Tali, "Tali, have you seen Thane?!"

She remembered she was going to look for him but then she came to talk to Shepard. "No, I haven't actually", she replied.

"Tali, try contacting him with your omni-tool."

"Got it"

She and Shepard frantically waited for Thane to reply and to the delight he answered.

"Yes, what is it Tali?"

"I'm here with Commander Shepard and he wanted to make sure you were ok."

They heard a gasp and then heard Thane reply in a stoic voice, "I stare down the barrel of a firing weapon. I'm ready to accept death but then… I feel a shove. I fall to the ground. The sound of the weapon firing and then the sound of intense pain. I smell burnt flesh. I look to my side…"

"Thane, snap out of it", Shepard exclaimed.

"Shepard…", he replies, unsure what to say to him.

"Where are you?"

"I am lost"

"Tali can trace your location."

"No, I don't wish to be found. It should have been me. You shouldn't have sacrificed yourself to save me. I live on borrowed time; my fate is inescapable. I should have no longer delayed the inevitable. I had accepted death but you had to intervene. The damage to you is more detrimental than the death of a terminally-ill drell."

"Thane, listen to me…it was my decision to push you out of the way. My leg can be replaced but your life can't."

"My life is already void."

"That's not true! What about Kolyat?! He needs his father there to help him back onto the path of good. Without you, he'll become disconnected and go back to a life of crime."

Before he could reply, Tali interrupted, "Thane, I need to apologize to you. Ever since the Collector base, I've been foolishly upset with you. I wanted to blame you for what happened. I wish things could have been different but we must accept the present and move on from it. I saw the look in your eyes when you came back to the Normandy after finding you son. For the first time since I've met you, you actually looked happy. You finally had something to help you forget about the pain of your past. Shepard has been to me what your son is to you. He has always been there to remind me that regardless of all the terrible things the galaxy wants to throw at us, we have to be grateful for the things we have now."

The room had fallen silent and the air was razor thin. Finally Thane replied, "Thank you Tali. You are right. My son needs me in his life. I need to make sure he says on the right path to ensure he never becomes disconnected again. I cannot run away from again." He went silent before concluding, "I'm on my way to the hospital now."

"See you when you get here", Shepard replied. "Although, when you get here, I might be asleep. I'm going into surgery to have my leg reconstructed."

"I see, then I hope for safe passage and a timely return."

The communication concluded. Tali deactivated her omni-tool and turned to Shepard.

"You are going into surgery already?"

"I guess it's better than me freaking out again. Honestly, I'd rather see something there the next time I'm not medicated."

"That's true…well I know you'll pull through. I wouldn't date a man who couldn't handle a leg reconstruction."

Shepard smiled and let out a soft laugh. "Yeah, what kind of man would I be if I let a missing leg get in between him and his sexy quarian lady?" He pulled her in and planted a soft kiss on her face plate.

She pulled away and grabbed onto Shepard's hand, "I'll be waiting for you."

They hugged one last time before the doctor came in and escorted her out of the room. She turned and saw him waving goodbye to her just as the doors closed. A single tear fell down the side of her face as she smiled and went back to the waiting room. She sat down in the chair alongside the rest of the Normandy crew as they waited for their Commander to come out of surgery.

* * *

To those who have been waiting for a new update, I apologize for the long wait. I promise the next chapter will be out in, no later than, two weeks. This next chapter will probably be the final one in my Shepard x Tali fan fiction, so for those who've been following this story since the beginning I thank you for your loyalty and support. If there was something you didn't like, leave a review and I'll be sure to address it. Be sure to follow the author so you can keep up to date on any future releases. Thanks for reading :)


	6. The Impossible Task

The Impossible Task

Two weeks had passed since Shepard's leg surgery and he was scheduled to begin his rehabilitation today. The doctors were surprised at just how well Shepard's body accepted the leg implant and that he was already able to stand up on his own. The doctors came into Shepard's room.

"Commander Shepard, it says here you are ready to begin your rehabilitation. So if you are ready to head over, we can wheel you…"

"No", Shepard replied, "I can walk."

"We apologize, but hospital regulations state that we must keep your mobility limited."

Shepard didn't want to be wheeled around but he acknowledged the hospitals request and allowed himself to be taken to the rehab center. As Shepard was being taken away, he saw Tali. She looked over and ran over to him.

"Are they taking you to your rehab?"

"Yeah, they insisted on the wheelchair. If it were up to me, I would walk there myself."

Tali laughed, "Just like you Shepard, always making things difficult for everyone else."

"Well I can't just make it easy for them; that would be out of character." Shepard could see the look of irritation on the doctors' faces so he turns to Tali, "I'll see you later Tali."

"Ok, good luck with your rehab."

The doctors wheel Shepard out. When they got to the rehab center, Shepard started with the routine tests. He was able to stand and walk from one side of the room to the other. While there was a slight limp, he was handling the tests exceedingly well. The doctors were amazed he was doing so well for his first day of rehab. Just as they were about to tell him he was done, Shepard dropped to the floor and began screaming as if he was in serious pain. They rushed into the room.

"What is it Commander?!"

"My leg feels like it's on fire!"

One of the doctors ran back to the lab and grabbed a sedative. He loaded the needle and injected the Shepard. After a few frantic seconds, Shepard was passed out on the floor. The put Shepard on the wheelchair and ran as fast as they could to the emergency room. As they rushed through lobby, Tali saw Shepard unconscious in the wheelchair. She ran to the doctors.

"What happened to him?!"

"We aren't sure. He was doing well and then out of nowhere he began screaming that his leg felt like it was fire. We gave him sedative and we are going to see what's wrong."

Before Tali could reply, the doctor ran off to catch up with the others. She was speechless. Shepard had been fine since the surgery and now he was suffering again. After being able to compose herself, she contacted the crew to tell them what had happened. The crew arrived at the hospital soon about thirty minutes later. No one could believe what was happening. They sat around the waiting room for over an hour. Tali finally noticed that Miranda had distanced herself away from the rest of the crew. She saw the Miranda's mouth was starting to move so she listened in carefully.

Miranda, staring at the floor, softy said, "I think I know what this could be."

Tali ran over to her, grabbed her by the shoulders and frantically replied, "What do you mean you think you know what this is?"

Miranda stood there silent, but then she felt a hard slap across the face.

"What is this you Bosh'tet!?"

"The cybernetic implants that we put in him during the Lazarus project could be fighting the implants the hospital used."

"And you thought this was something you felt that you didn't need to tell us?! Shepard is in there in a terrible amount of pain because you failed to tell the doctors that the implants YOU put in him could react negatively to their implants!"

Miranda fell to her knees. She couldn't think of a reason why she failed to mention this possibility. Just then, she heard the sound of a knife being pulled out. She looked up and saw that Tali had her knife to her throat. Even though she couldn't see her face, she knew that under that mask was a face that if looks could kill, she'd be dead on the floor.

"You Bosh'tet! You did this on purpose! I bet you wanted Shepard to suffer because of what happened to Jacob!"

Miranda's eyes widened. Was she right? Did she allow this to happen? Was it revenge for Jacob's death?

"What happened to Jacob wasn't Shepard's fault and yet, you thought it was alright to allow this to happen to Shepard! What if this caused serious damage? Did that thought ever go through your mind?"

Tears were pouring down Miranda's face, but then she felt the knife being pulled away from her throat. She looked up and saw that C-sec officers had pulled her away. As Tali thrashed around, a familiar voice began screaming.

"Get your hands off her!"

Miranda turned and saw that Shepard was hobbling over to them. She looked lower and saw that Shepard had a pistol in his hand. Just then, Shepard raised the pistol to the C-sec officer.

"Let Tali go or I'll vent your head!"

The officer replied, "Sir, put down the gun. This doesn't have to end in bloodshed."

"It will if you don't let her go! If you know who I am, you'll know I can hit you from this distance."

The C-sec officer let Tali go, "I let her go. Now put down the gun."

Shepard lowered the pistol. He then turned to Miranda, "Is it true?"

"Shepard?"

"Is it true you knew something like this could happen?"

Miranda felt like her life was in more danger now than when Tali had the knife on her.

"I swear to god Miranda if ruined my life out of spite…"

Miranda's head jerked up, "What do you mean ruined your life?"

"The doctors told me that I'll never be fit for combat ever again. They are going to remove this leg and put on one of those old fashioned metal prosthetic legs so I'll never have the mobility I need for combat. The Alliance is going to stick me behind a desk on Earth until I retire or until the Reapers arrive and harvest us all."

None of the crew could believe what they heard. Commander Shepard was going to have to step down and someone else would have to lead the charge against the Reapers. Miranda had a look of shock and guilt. Before she could say anything Shepard had something else to say.

"Here's the issue", he began, "I have no intention on being put behind a desk. I did overhear one of the doctors saying that I could keep this leg but that I wouldn't be able to move around much with it. That is fine with me because as far as I see it there are only two things in this world I care about. The first thing is the destruction of the Reapers and the second thing…is that Tali is by my side until the end."

Just then Shepard biotic charged over to Tali, he turned to Miranda with the pistol pointed directly at her head. She couldn't believe what was about to happen, but then he dropped the pistol and hopped into a public transit shuttle. The shuttle flying away was the last time that the Normandy crew ever saw Shepard or Tali. Later on the Normandy was requested to return to Earth and most of the crew members went their separate ways. Most of the non-human crew returned to their home worlds to prepare for the incoming Reaper invasion with Thane being the exception. He decided to stay on the Citadel to be near his son. The Cerberus crew was granted amnesty if they came to the Alliance and the ones who refused were arrested and tried as war criminals. Joker stayed on Earth to help out on the Normandy. With EDI switching over to the Alliance, the Normandy would become a flagship in Earth's battle against the Reapers with Admiral Anderson stepping in as her Captain. The galaxy had prepared itself for the arrival of the Reapers as best as it could. Days before the Reaper invasion Joker saw that there was new message on the terminal. He was shocked when he saw that it had been send by Shepard! He opened the message and began to read.

"Joker, it's been sometime since you've last seen or heard from me. Tali and I are staying out behind the Perseus Veil on an old Quarian colony. The Geth here are not hostile and as a matter of fact they are preparing to fight alongside the rest of the galaxy against the Reapers. It was strange for Tali at first to be working alongside the Geth but eventually they gained trust for one another. Although I am hearing rumors that the Quarians are planning to take back Rannoch, we hope the Quarians will listen to our hails to negotiate with the Geth instead. The last thing I wanted to tell you is probably the most surprising…to you and me…Tali is pregnant! She is expected to give birth sometime in the next few weeks. This will give us all an added reason to protect this world. I can only hope we will all be prepared to stop the Reapers. This is an impossible task but just remember when things seem bleak…we've made a career out of making the impossible possible. Defeating Sovereign, destroying the Collector home world, and a Quarian getting pregnant from a human…I'd say defeating the Reapers is quite possible. There will be many trials ahead but we will fight and overcome as we always have. Stay safe out there Joker…keep the Normandy safe."

Commander Markus Shepard

* * *

I would like to thank all of my readers from the the people who this is there first chapter to the people who have been reading since this story's creation a few years ago. I plan to put all the stories I've posted into on big compilation so stay tuned for that. Also, I plan to start a Persona fanfiction so I hope that some you will join me on that adventure as well. Again, thank you to all of my readers because without you people, I'd just be some loser with a laptop. I hope to put out more stories you will love or at least love to hate

The Renagade for Life: Ben Leavitt


End file.
